Door-lock for open-end vaults



C. F. UNCKRICH DOOR LOOK FOR OPEN ENDVAULTS. APPLICATION FILED SEPT, 2, 1919.

1,375,6 L5. Patented Apr. 19,1921.

CLARENCE F. UNCKRICH, 0F .GALION, OHIO.

DOOR-LOCK FOR OPEN-END VAULTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 19, 1921.

Application filed September 2, 1919. Serial No. 321,110.

2" 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLARENCE F. UNoK- RICH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Gallon, in the county of Crawford and State of Ohio,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Door-Locks for @pen-End Vaults, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates broadly to burial vaults, and has particular reference to the closure structure thereof. The object of the invention resides in the provision of a burial vault of the so-called open ended variety and in means of an improved nature for locking the closure of the open end of said vault, said means serving to unite the closure in secured relationship with the body of said vault so that the interior of the latter will be substantially hermetically sealed and to To this end, the invention provides avault,

closure upon the inner face of which is mounted a plurality of locking plates which are adapted to be projected into or out of locked engagement with a flange surround ing the open end 01 the vault, and in the provision of independently operable means for effecting the projection and retraction of said locking plates into and outoi loclring engagement with said flange, said means being of such character as to independently and selectively project each of said locking plates into engagement with said flange so that a tightly sealed relationship Wlll exist between said closure and flange irrespective of structural imperfections in the formation of said flange, the arrangement being such as to insure a very tight fit between the closure and flange along all points of the latter and to thus prevent air or other fluids from unduly entering the interior of the vault.

further object of the invention resides inthe provision of improved means for operating the locking'plates, said means being in the nature of a plurality of cam members one of which being allotted to each of said locking plates and capable of being independently actuated, said cam members embodying surfaces which will cause the locking plates to be projected into locking engagement with the vault flange and are further formed with cam surfaces which act upon said plates to rock the latter laterally of said closure, subsequent to the projection-0t the plates into locking positions and in this manner will serve to draw said closure into firmly seated relation with respect to said flange.

A still further object of the invention resides in the provision of means for guiding the locking plates during their movements and to render the construction of the closure positive and reliable.

With these and other objects inview, as will appear as the description proceeds, the invention accordingly consists in the novel features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts, hereinafter to be fully described and to have the scope thereof pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification, and in which similar characters of reference denote like and corresponding parts:

Figure 1 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken through an open end grave vault, and disclosing the application of the looking mechanism comprising the present invention to the closure for said vault.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a front view of one of the cam members, and,

Fig. t is an edge view thereof. 7

Referring more particularly to the detail's of the invention, use is made of a grave vault 1 wherein is provided an open end 2, the latter being capable of being closed by means of a removable closure 3. In this instance, the grave vault l is provided with an angle iron or flange l, which is preter ably welded to the interior surfaces of said grave vault adjacent to the open end thereof: and the flange d is of the configuration of said vault and is adapted to form a seat for the marginal edges of the closure. A gasket 5 is preferably provided between the meeting faces of the flange 1 and the closure 3, said gasket serving as a seal for this joint and also acts to exclude moisture and air from the interior of the vault after the closure has been finally seated.

In order to draw the closure 3 into seating engagement with the flange 4 and to lock the same in this engagement, the inner surface of the closure is formed with a plurality of locking plates or members 6. The latter are of substantially skeleton formation, so as to be relatively light in weight thereof should be inset farther than the remaining portions, the present invention will provide means whereby this imperfection will be overcome, since the operation of each locking plate is rendered local and the desired pressure may be imparted to any single part of the closure, to draw the latter into seating engagement with the flange. Prior structures mainly disclosed devices which are operated from a common device, hence it will be manifest in the earlier forms of device that an inset imperfection in the flange thereof would result ,in the application of pressure by the locking fingers upon the inset portion to a greater extent than upon the remaining portions, and the loss of pressure upon the remaining portions has frequently resulted in air or other fluid leaks. This is believed to be overcome by the present invention, wherein the selectively actuated locking plates may impart the desired necessary pressure to any part of the closure margin, thus sealing the vault around all edges of its open end and rendering the same practical for effective service.

I claim:

1. In a metallic grave vault, a closure for the entrance of said vault, a flange rigidly carried by said vault contiguous to its entrance and against which said closure is arranged to seat, means for locking said closure in secured relationship with said seat, comprising a plurality of locking plates slidably mounted upon the inner face of said closure and capable of being projected into and out of engagement with said flange, circular cam members independently mounted for rotation upon the inner face of said closure, said cam members being provided with grooves disposed eceentrically to the axes of rotation thereof and with continuing grooves disposed concentrically to the axes of rotation, projections provided upon the inner ends of said plates and arranged to be received within said grooves, whereby upon the selective rotation of said cam members said plates may be projected into engagement with said flange, and inwardly projecting cam surfaces provided upon the inner vertical faces of said cam members contiguous to the concentrically arranged grooves, whereby after said plates have been projected into engagement with said flange by the eccentric grooves of said cam members, the inwardly projecting cam surfaces of said members will engage with said plates to rock the latter laterally into firm frictional engagement with said flange.

2. The structure as specified in claim 1, and wherein the cam members are provided with ratchet teeth capable of engaging with spring pressed pawls to prevent undue retraction of said plates from their locking positions.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

CLARENCE F. UN CKRICH. 

